Absorbent articles often comprise a liquid permeable top sheet, a liquid impermeable bottom sheet and optionally an absorbent airlaid layer arranged between the top sheet and the bottom sheet. The top sheet might be made of two layers of spunbond filaments having a thickness of 3 dtex. A very good liquid inlet function is achieved with such a material. The top sheet of spunbond/spunbond filaments is however not comfortable for the user, since the filaments are coarse and the sheet is not soft. Thus, coarse filaments give a good inlet property but the softness is not satisfactory. Finer filaments will make the layer softer, but such a layer will have a poorer inlet function. A soft feeling may also be achieved using filaments such as cotton, viscose, lyocell, having a high softness and textile comfort. However, these filaments bind liquid and prevent the liquid from passing through the top sheet to the absorbent layer. Such a surface will give a wet feeling against the user during and it will be uncomfortable for the user.
Further, top sheets in the form of nonwoven materials comprising a layer of continuous filaments and a layer comprising short fibres have also been used. Such a top sheet is disclosed in for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,951,535. The layer including the short fibres comprises hot-melt-adhesive composite short fibres and they are hot-melt adhered together. The short fibres will be crimped and a bulky nonwoven material will be obtained. The hot melt adhesion will result in thermobonding, which is disadvantageous for the inlet function and the comfort during use.
WO 02/44456 A2 relates to a nonwoven material comprising a nonwoven web on which micro-fine fibres of great length are deposited as an aqueous slurry. The nonwoven web comprises fibres which are meltblown, spunbond, coformed, bonded and carded or airlaid. The microfine fibres could be used for adjustment of the rate of fluid movement through a personal care product. Such a layer becomes very dense.
It is desired to improve top sheet materials in absorbent articles and to solve the problems above.